Envelope machine



Y Aug' 4, 1931- M. vlERENGl-:L 1,817,539

` ENVELOPE MACHINE 4 v ATTORNEY.

Aug. 4, 1931. VlERENGEL `1,817,539

' ENVELOPE MACHINE 4 ShetS-Sheet 2 Filed.May 4. 1929 A INVENTOR.

Mmm-mw VIERENGEL WWW.

A TT ORNE Y.

Aus- 4, 1931. M. wERENGE-L 1,817,539

ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed May 4, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 (8 -1- SMQ Q 4* -1- i w NQ S Q 3 INVENTOR a TTORNEY AENVELOPE MACHINE Filed May' 4, 1929 4 Sheets-Shea# 4 INVENTOR M ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1931 PATENT OFFICE MATTHnW vlnnnnenr., or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK Envnnorn MACHINE Application filed Mey 4,

My invention relates to machines for making envelopes in which blanks are cut from rolls of paper, or to Which previously cut blanks are passed, and then those blanks are suitably formed, creased, pasted and sealed, ina rotation' of steps and to such a shape of a finished product ascircumstances may require. Machines of this .type kcan 'be arranged to operatein conjunction with suitable blank cutting mechanisms by which the successive blanks are out from continuous rolls of paper and'then passed through the above enumerated processes of making a linished envelope thereof. More often such ma- '15 chines are arrangedto start their operation vith the previously cut blank which 1s fed to such machines from a stack of such blanks by a suitable feeding mechanism. My invention is adapted to be used yin connection With either type of machine. It applies to operations performed on the blanks, after a paste has been suitably applied to the side flaps thereof; i. e., the said side flaps of the blank, While said blank travels on a conveyor belt, are formed, creased, and sealed. Afterwards an end flap or the end flaps is or are bent over, pasted and sealed.

A machine, to Which my invention may readily be adapted byisubstitutin has been protected by me kon August 8, 1911, by patent 1,000,057entitledEnvelop-machine. As to one form of the construction'of collateral parts relating to the present machine,r in which my invention is embodied,'the design and the description set forth and published in said patent may be followed. ilVhereas I desire to obtain particular protection for the side folding mechanism of a machine of thatkind, and of the conveying means used in connection therewith, I present `my invention in such form that the preceding operation, the feeding and side pasting mechanism, and the final operation, the mechanism for the end flaps, are substantially similar to the correr, sponding operations shown in said Patent Number 1,000,057. v

My invention represents a vast improvement over the machine disclosedin the above mentioned patent; and an important object of my invention is Vyto eliminate in the conveyl'ess pressure belts riding on top thereof.

1929. serial no. 360,348.

ing means or belts which support the blanks during the side forming opera-tion the specific gripping or holding means, which heretofore formed special parts and which had to be incorporated in and inserted into the belts and Which required a perfect synchronism in their operation, to be in cycle With the preceding and subsequent mechanisms forming part of such a machine. The special gripping means which heretofore Were attached 99 to Aor inserted ina conveyorzbelt, required openings at and near Which a belt has atendency to tear and which cause unbalancing of the internal stresses of the b elts as Well as of the stress and strain applied to such belts 55 in the conveying operation in an envelope machine. This caused such belts to Warp and to stretch unevenly, causing not only trouble to the operator of the machine, but also impairing the i quality rof products obtained 79 therefrom. Machines of the old type'also require that the gripping means are attached to the'conveyorbelt at yeven and accurately measured and maintained distances which is almost impossible in vievv of the unavoidable :Il: stretching Which is characteristic of almost all materials which are used for such conveyor belts. i

To overcome these difficulties I have inventedy a machine, Which basan endless conveyor belt, slightly longer than the conveyor belts ordinarily used, andV Which carries no specific gripping or holding means forl the blanks but Which Works in unison WithI endy 85 Another object of 'my inventionis-to limit the side .folding process and the conveying meansused in connection therewith to cofntinuously and uniformly moving parts, \v.hich do not involve any reciprocating nor retard- 'Q ed, accelerated or temporarily interrupted movements. This precludes difficulties Which make the maintainance of machines ofthis kind cumbersome and expensive and it r,also enables operation of my machine yat a speed 5 considerably higher than that ordinarily used in the side folding operation of envelopes Another important factor governing the operationof a. machine of this kind the time Which is required to change its setting for the different sizes of envelopes manufactured thereby. The conveying means in my machine consist of a wide, endless conveyor belt on the bottom and two smaller endless pressure belts, running on top thereof, offset in respect to each other in tandem arrangement. These conveying means permit the feeding thereinto of blanks of a wide range of sizes, with any distance therebetween, which may be desired, without any resetting or without any change in arrangement; still the blanks will leave my novel conveying means spaced and disposed in exactly the same manner in the direction of travel, in which they have entered upon said conveying means. Likewise my novel conveying means permit the firm holding and positive conveyance of blanks of a great variety of width, without causing any change of setting of the conveying means proper; the only care, adjustment and setting required in my improved side folding operation is themaintenance of proper tension on the belts and the transverse adjustment of the means which actually bring about the folding of the sides.

Another object of my invention is to do away with special pressure means or auxiliary belts which are ordinarily used and required for assuring the alignment during movement and the proper folding and sealing of the envelopes; the pressure required for the folding and sealing of envelopes in my machine is automatically provided by the conveying belts.

Another object of my invention is to provide belt conveying means for the side folding operation which can be universally applied and are not limited to a use for conveying` the envelope in an essentially horizontal. direction. In the prior art the designer of envelope machinery depends in a greater or lesser' degree upon gravity to retain the blank in its position on the conveying belt, only one end of said envelope being held by the gripping means provided for that purpose on the conveyor belt. The retaining means of my novel conveyor system hold such a proportion of the blanks that I do not have to depend on gravity to retain the envelope in a proper position on the conveyor. j

Other objects of my invention involve the avoiding of damage to the blanks gripping means and the avoidance of soiling of envelopes, parts of the machine and of the belts by paste which they may come into contact with, such soiling being eliminated in my mechanism since the paste applied to the blank at its side is turned upward and located outside of the range of the faces of the conveyor belts.

These and other objects I attain by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show one particular modication of application of my invention for folding envelopes with center seams; in said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvements, in the form adapted for the manufacture of center seam envelopes.

Figure 2 is a corresponding plan view.

Figure 3 shows in an end view a transverse, enlarged sectional view of my machine showing a blank passing therethrough.

Figure l shows a large envelope manufac tured by my machine.

Figure 5 shows, schematically, in a phantom top view, the manner in which blanks pass through the conveying means of my machine in the side folding operation, when an envelope of the size of the one shown in Fig. t is to be made.

Figure 6 is a smaller envelope, as made by my machine.

Figure 7 shows, schematically in a phantom top view the manner in which blanks pass through the same conveying means of my machine in the side folding operation, when an envelope of the size of the one shown in Fig. 6 is to be made.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various views.

My improved machine may be built upon any suitable framework capable of properly supporting the operative parts hereinafter described. As shown, the machine frame consists chiefly of two main side frames F, F. These side frames are suitably braced by transverse bars, tie rods and shafts which will be referred to specifically in the following specification only when necessary to point out some particular feature.

Extending horizontally between the main side frames F from points adjacent to the opposite ends is a main table or platform P, upon which the adjustable side fold forming mechanism is mounted, and over which the endless belt C travels in the manner presently to be explained. Leading to the endless belt is a main transferring feeding device which transfers the successive blanks onto said endless belt. As stated above, an automatic sheet feeding machine may be employed in conjunction with my improved envelope machine, or a suitable form of blank cutting mechanism may be provided for operating upon a continuous roll of paper to supply successive blanks to the `conveying devices of my machine.

The blank B is fed onto endless belt C by upper and lower frictional feed rollers 151 and 152 upon transverse shafts 153 and 154 which are driven by suitable gearing' from mainshaft M in any suitable manner.

165 and 166 are transverse shafts suitably journaled in the side frames of the machine and respectively carrying supporting and driving cylinders 167 and 168, over which runs the endless conveyor belt C. The upper l ance therefore over breadth and thickness l, up and tensioning the conveyor '3. tion around the shaft 177;

and whichis cylinder 167.

F by brackets www sidev of the top part of the belt, which extends Said platform has clearits whole length, the of the conveyor belt C To allow free movement of the belt across'the top of the machine, anti-friction rollers 169 are mounted at regular intervals, below the belt, upon shafts 'l P of the machine.

170 which are Journaled 1n suitable supports 171 fastened below the platform P. Similar anti-friction rollers 172, which are smaller in size n laccount of the limitations of space, support the vconveyor belt C at and near its center and are rotatably journaled by means of their shafts 17 8 in the side frames F or in supports 171.

The lower loop of belt C is provided with means for suitably and conveniently taking belt so that the top part of .the endless'conveyor belt eX- tends flatly and smoothly in a horizontal plane, in alignment with the top of platform P. An idler shaft .17 extends between the said frames F of the machine and an antifriction roller 176 is mounted upon said shaft. Below shaft 175 tatably mounted between the side frames F. Shaft 177 represents the fulcrum of levers 'i 178 which are fiXedly mounted thereon on both sides of the machine; between the free y ends of said levers 178 is rotatably journaled the anti-friction roller 179. vOne of said levers 178 has anlextension 180 to .the right.

s rhis extension is engaged upon the free-end of the adjusting screw 181 which is supported by a lug 182 rotatably mounted onthe inside of one of the frames F. The thread/of the adj usting screw 181 engages upon a tapped hole in said lug. The lower stretch of the conveyor belt C runsover the anti-friction roller 176 and beneath the anti-friction roller 179. rllightening of adjusting screw 181 causes the levers 178 to swing'in counterclockwise directhis causes the 179 to be lowered so that anti-friction roller to the coveyor belt C by tension is applied this operation.

Both cylinders 167 and 168, which serve to support the conveyor belt C are power driven.

Y 185 is mounted on the main shaft M of the machine and drives `the spur gear 186, which forms part of the gear train leading to the feeding mechanism of my machine mounted upon the shaft 165 of A set of miter gears 187 and 188 operatively connects the main shaft M to a longitudinal shaft 190 which is rotatably supportedupon the outside of one of frames 189. The left ,end of the longitudinal shaft 190 voperativelyconnects vby a set of bevel gears 191 and 192, to the shaft 166 of cylinder 168. The ratio of bevel gears 191 and 192 being the sameas that of the spur gears 185 and 186, the two cylinders A spur gear another shaft 177' is rorespectively in such a manner and-,168, which are of similar diameter, are driven at thesame speed.

The tight and loose pulleys 195 and 196 onmain shaft M serve for a belt connection between the machine and a motorv or a line shaft. On the other end of the main shaft is lmounted a hand wheel 197 which serves to manually turn over the machine for setting purposes. Y Y

Over the machine, from one frame F to the other one, extend the two bridges 200 and 201,'thefirst one near the right end, the other oneapproximately atthe center of the machine. Upon the horizontal top parts of these bridges are arranged, transversely slidable, thel dove-tail slides 202 and 203, respectively. i slides is controlled by the screws 204 and 205, reslfectively,'which vengage tapped holes i-n said slides and which are adapted for manipulation by means of `handles 206 which Cylindrical parts are mounted on their ends. of these screws are rotatable in brackets ,207 whichare mounted on topof the bridges and are axially retained upon said brackets 207 between the hubs of the handles 206 yon one side and by collars 208 on the other side. n By suitable connecting means and 210 are attached to the slides 20,2 and 208 that operation of the slides in a transverse direction will feed the steel edges 209 and 210, parallel to themselves, in close proximity above the conveyor belt C The right ends of the steel edges 209`and 210 curve upward toallow the envelope blanks, approaching these edges upon the conveyor belt C, to slide beneath them.v 5 v i Right near to the steel edges 209 and 210 are arranged the fold formers 211 and 212 respectively, which are of the usual twisted construction of such formers. The right ends lof these formers .are slightly tilted downward' or these ends are curved downwardly at their tops to allow the envelopes to slide onto these formers, when conveyor belt C.l Flat lugs 213 with elongate-d holes 214 form part of the twisted fold formers200 and they are long enough to eX- tend from the fold formers over lthe belt onto the adjoining top ofplatform P, where `they screws 215 upon on the end of shaft 221 and a chain 224 con? nects this sprocket 223 to a corresponding driving sprocket on main shaft M. An idler follower 225 is adjustably mounted by means of bracket 226 upon the side of one ofthe The transverse movement of these the steel edges 209 110' fed Aacross the machine by the Y bridge 201 by bridges 200 and 201 247 and which,

' beit o. This beit D is driven by rear end of shaft 166. these gears converge at the level on which the the same direction along tl tact. The sprockets driving the chain 224 i 'if is rotatably side frames F and serves to take up on chain 224 so that it is always properly tensioned. Upon the shaft 221 is mounted a pulley 227 over which extends an endless belt E to an anti-friction pulley 229 which is fastened upon a shaft 230. That shaft is rotatably mounted in the risers of bridge 200. Above belt E yoke 231 extends from the bridge 200 to bridge 201. This yoke is attached upon i means of the forked bracket 232 which attaches to said bridge at points far enough away from slide 203 to allow for the transverse adjustment ofl said slide. The other end of yoke 231 is fastened directly j upon bridge 200. In suitable holes in bridge 231 are vertically slidable the upper ends 233 of forked brackets 234. In the forked brackets 234 are rotatably mounted the anti-friction pulleys 235 which have diameters simif'; lar to that of pulleys 227 and 229.' The forked brackets 234 are tensioned downwardly by compression springs 236 which eX- tend around the upper ends 233 of the forked brackets and which are compressed between 2 shoulders on said forked brackets 234 and the bottom of yoke 231. It is noticed that the various rollers 227, 229 and 235 upon the endless belt E in each instance corre-spend to and align with pulleys or cylinders supporting the conveyor belt C from below. Flanged idler pulleys 237 and idler pulley 238 are rotatably mounted on swing lbrackets 239 and 240, which are fulcrumed, respectively, on and on yokes 231 and by tension, or weight, bear down upon the endless belts D and E to provide suitable tension therefor.

Offset in respect to endless belt E a similar endless belt D is arranged above conveyor a pulley 242 the shaft 243 of which is rotatably mounted in the brackets 244. rIhese brackets are mounted on top of the side frames Fand they are adjustable in their height, thereby facilii." tating a close adjustment of the center distances between shafts 166 and 243. On one end of shaft 243 is mounted the gear 245 which is driven from a spur gear 246 on the The pitch lines of belts C and D bear upon each other,'the conveyor belt C and the belt D thus beingV driven to move at the same linear surface speed in yeir. line of conare similarly proportioned in such a way that belt E moves at the same speed as conveyor belt C.) Above belt D extends a yoke 247 which is similar to yoke 231 and which is fastened on the right end upon bridge 201 whereas its left end is supported, at the proper height, by a light bridge 243, extending over platform P, and fastened upon it. The shaft 249, with the follower pulley 241, mounted in the risers of bridge 201 in a manner similar to the mode in which the pulley 229 is rotatably mounted in bridge 200. The various other pulleys and rollers which guide and tension belt D are likewise mounted in a manner corresponding to that in which the corresponding parts relating to endless belt E are mounted upon the machine; they are therefore indicated by similar numerals and they perform similar functions.

After the sides of the blank have been folded7 it is fed, vowing to its engagement between belts C and D rearwardly over the guide plate 250 into the bite of upper and lower feed rollers 251 and 252 mounted upon suitable transverse shafts and driven by a chain of gears connecting to gear 246. A curved guide arm 253, for which roller 251 is spared out, is supported vabove the plane of blanks to confine the leading edge of the blank in the event of any tendency to bend upwardly. The blank with the side Haps folded and sealed in the preceding operation is passed by the rollers 251, 252 to the final creasing and bottom flap pasting and forming mechanisms which finish up the envelope.

The means by which I drive the belts C, D and E in such a manner that they have the same rectilinear speed at their contacting surfaces have been described in detail before. The illustrations indicate not only theuse of spur, miter and bevel gears for that purpose but they also indicate in parts, on the driving pulley of belt E, the use of a chain drive, which by suitable tensioning means may be readily adapted to bring about a perfect sync-hronism between the conveyor and pressure belts.

It will be noticed that a comparatively high tension may be applied to the various belts to secure suliicient .frictional contact between said belts and the respective driving pulleys. Eventual stretching of the belts, as it invariably has to be contended with, is not accompanied in my improvements by 'the disagreeable consequences entailed thereby in conveyor belts in which gripping means for the blanks are mounted at regular intervals, and where a stretching, and, particularly, uneven stretching, of the belts between the various points where the gripping means are attached throw the conveyor system out of synchronism with the cycle of the feeding mechanism as well asout of cycle with the mechanism for the aps. My conveyor system will not only deliver the blanks received from the feeding mechanism after the lapse of a definite interval of time to the mechanism for the flaps but it is at all times ready to receive the blanks from the feeding mechanism at whatever moment they are fed from said mechanism to enter upon the cenveying means.

The number of driving and supporting pulleys below the conveyor belt may be inthe conveying means 21.2, while said passes out creased or decreased occasion may require, the pulleys in the pressure belts above are substantially in alignment n therewith and that in all instances driving or non-friction pulleys on the upper belts are arranged above one or the other kind of pulleys on the conveyor belt. f As the blank passes between feed rollers 151 and 152 of the feed mechanism away from said mechanism, it passes onto the end of fold former .211,` the end of which is curved downwardly over the circular curvature at the end of the conveyor belt C, it passes onto said-belt C and subsequently underneath the pressure belt E. "Pressure belt E is disposed at a certain distance away from the middle line of the conveyor belt C in the direction of its travel, so that the blankB is actually gripped between belts C and E Onlyon the one side, the right flap B and the part ofthe blank onto which said flap is to be folded over being clear on the upper side. As the blank B continues in its travel, it slides below the steel edge 209, the edge of which is in alignment with the line in which the right flap B of the blank is to be creased and folded over. As the blank B continues in its travel this creasing and folding is presently brought about by the fold former 211 which lifts up the right flap R and bends it over the steel edge 209 so that the blank is folded in the manner indicated at the center of Figs. 5 and 7 ofthe drawings, when it issues from underneath the belt E beforeA said belt travels upward around driving pulley 227. As the blank B continues in its travel, resting upon conveyor belt C, the part of blank B onto which the right flap R has just been molded, runs underneath the belt D and is securely held upon conveyor belt C by the pressure exert-ed upon the lower stretch of pressure belt D by the tensioning means provided on the pulleys arranged in said belt D.

The left-side of the blank is free on the top; said side slides onto the fold former 212 and underneath the steel edge 210,A said steel edge and said fold former being set in .alignment with the line along which the ,left flal VL of blank B is to be folded over. A certain width of the margin of the blank B had been gummed, near the edge of the left flap L, just before the blank B passed from the feeding mechanism into and the gummed margin Gr comes to rest upon and to adhesively engage the margin of flap Bkafter the blank has been creased andthe flap L yhas been turned over onto the blank by the side former blank is moving along the platform of the machine, the right side of the blank being held betweenthe belts C and D. The side creasing, folding and sealing operation thus being finished, the blank from between belts C and D,

accordingy to what they' care being taken that now entirely guided on top and bottom bythe guide arm 253 and the guide plate 250, respectively, into ythe grip of feed rollers 251 and 252, the circumferential speed of which corresponds to the. rectilinear speed of the belts C, VE and D, at which speed the blank has been taken from the rollers 151 and 152; this is the feeding speedto wh ich all blank-conveying parts of the machine are geared. l

Gear or cam actuated means, functioning in a direction transverse or angular tothe direction of travel of the blank in the conveying means, are velope machines and it is seen that mynovel conveying means may be readily adapted by the designer skilled in the art for use in connection with that type of side folding means.

The wide range of size of envelopes which can be accommodatedby my novel conveying means without necessitating any resetting of said conveying means', or of parts thereof, is illustrated by Figs. 5 and 7 in which, respectively, the comparatively large envelope of Fig. 4 and the comparatively Small envelope of Fig. 6 are passed through the side folding operations, the belts C, D and E being similarly dimensionedand substantially in the saine position in respect to each other in both of these drawings. In respect to the greatest width of envelopes which can be handled by my conveying means the limit is drawn only by the marginal limitations prescribed by the side frames and the adjoining machine parts, between which the blank has to pass before it is folded. my conveying means I ordinarily use it for envelopes, the width of which does not eX- ceed the width of my belt. y

The limit in respectl to the smallest envelopes to be handled by my conveying system is set by the width of the pressure belts. As long as the belt E is narrower than the distance between the edge of the right flap B, after it has been folded over, and the' gummed margin E of the left flap LV of an envelope, before it is folded over, such a small envelope can be handled by my conveying means.

In the early stages machines the top face of the conveying means used for the side folding operation were ordinarily arranged at a, horizontal level. During the development of the art economy of space, the other part of the mechanism of the machine and other reasons have frequently suggested an arrangement of the conveying means for the side folding operation at various angles; in this respect the designer was handicappedbecause i the travel -of the blanks on'the conveying means the art had largely depended on gravity to retain the blanks on the vlatform. To retain the blanks under those circumstances in the proper posifrequentlyk used in en-f In the practical application ofV of the art of envelope facilitation of approach `to one or shown in the drawings, but

tion on the platform, various auxiliary means had to be resorted to to prevent the blanks from falling off said platform when it was tilted together with the conveying means. It is readily seen from my description and from the drawings that my novel conveying means eminently adapt themselves for the use in machinery in which the conveying means are to be arranged at an angle, vertically, or even upside down, the extent to which the blanks are gripped by the various belts of my improvement making it unnecessary to provide additional means to hold the blanks in position.

It is readily seen that machines equipped with my novel conveying means may also be used for making envelopes with side seams. Such use of my improvements is not limited as longr as pressure belts of convenient width to g'rip the blanks betweenthe gummed margins can be accommodated.

When side-seam envelopes are made, the distance to which the pressure belts are transversely placed apart does not have to be that part of said pressure belts may be in longitudinal alignment, one protruding transversely over the other only for a distance necessary to allow space for convenient folding' over of the side flap.

In this and other respects I therefore do not desire to be limited by the actual disclosure of this specication but I desire protection for my invention in all the modifications in which it may be adapted to the use in envelope manufacture in general, the scope of my invention being only limited by the state of the prior art and by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In combination with the side folding mechanismof an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to con-A vey an envelope blank, two auxiliary, endless belts in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt, means folding saidr blank, while said blank is engaged by pairs of said belts and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

2. In a machine for making center seam envelopes, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey an envelope blank, two auxiliary, endless belts in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt, means folding said blank so as to make the centerseam, while said blank is engaged by pairs of said belts and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

3. In combination with the side folding mechanism of an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey an envelope blank, two auxiliary, endless belts in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt and transversely and longitudinally spaced apart from each other, a plurality of driving and anti-fria tion rollers in said auxiliary, endless belts tensioned in a direction towards said primary endless belt, rollers in said primary elt supporting' said primary belt at the points where said rollers in said auxiliary, endless belts are tensioned against it, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

4. In combination with the side folding mechanism of an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey an envelope blank, two auxiliary, endless belts in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt and transversely spaced apart from each other, a plurality of driving and anti-friction rollers in said auxiliary endless belts, independent means on each one of said anti-friction rollers tensioning it towards said primary, endless belt, rollers in said primary, endless belt, supporting said primary belt at the points Where said rollers in said auxiliary, endless belts are t-ensioned against it, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

In an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey the envelope blank, a first and a second auxiliary endless belt in moving Contact with the top face of said primary belt and transversely and longitudinally spaced apart from each other, means for folding one side of said blanks arranged next to the first of said auxiliary belts on the side towards which said second auxiliary belt is transversely spaced apart from said first auxiliary belt, and means for folding the other side of said blanks arranged next to the said second aux` iliary belt on the side towards which said first auxiliary belt is transversely spaced apart from said second auxiliary belt, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

6. In an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey the envelope blank, a first and a second auxiliary, endless rbelt in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt and transversely and longitudinally spaced apart from each other, side folding means for said blanks arranged next to said first auxiliary belt on the side towards which said second auxiliary belt is transversely spaced apart from said first auxiliary belt, and side folding means for said blanks arranged next to the said second auxiliary belt on the side towards which the said first auxiliary belt is transversely spaced apart from said second auxiliary belt, a pairv of pressure rollers arranged in alignment with the level at which said blank comes from said primary belt, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

In an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey envelope blanks, two bridges spanning said primary, endless belt, slides transversely adjustable upon said bridges, two auxiliary, endless belts, in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt and transversely and longitudinally spaced apart from each other, twosharp edges adapted to crease said blanks and each supported by one of said slides and arranged alongside of each of said auxiliary, endless belts on the side towards which the other one of said auxiliary, endlessY belts is spaced apart therefrom, fold formers adjustably arranged alongside of said sharp edges and curved to fo-ld the side flaps of said blanks in the direction towards the auxiliary, endless belt along the side of which the respective sharp edge is arranged,

and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts. y

8. In an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adaped to convey an envelope blank, auxiliary, endless belts the bottom faces of which are in moving contact with sectional areas of the top faces of said primary belt, said sectional areas of contact boing spaced apart in, and transversely to the direction of movement of said top face of said primary belt, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

9. In combination with the side folding mechanism of an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey an envelope blank, auxiliary, endless belts which are in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt, which are longitudinally spaced apart, and which are laterally spaced apart to allow one or the other side of said blank to be folded over, respectively, while said blank, conveyed by said primary, endless belt, successively passes below said auxiliary belts, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

10. In combination with a machine in which the right and left flaps of an envelope blank are folded onto said blank, a paste applying disc adapted to gum the margin of said left flap on the side of said left fiap which is to be folded onto said blank, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey said envelope blank, a first auxiliary, endless belt in 'moving contact with the top face of said primary belt and of a width smaller than the distance between the gummed margin of said left flap and the edge of said right flap when said right flap is in a position folded onto said blank, side folding means arranged above said primary belt on one side of said rst auxiliary belt, a second auxiliary, endless belt in moving contact with the top face of said primarybelt and substantially in longitudinal alignment with said side folding means, side folding means arranged above said primary belt on one side of said second auxiliary belt and substantially in longitudinal alignment with said first auxiliary belt, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

v 11. In combination with the side folding mechanism of an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt adapted to convey an envelope blank and of a Width to accommodate the largest envelope to be made, aux-v iliary, endless belts which are in moving contact with the top face of said primary belt, which are longitudinally spaced apart, and which are laterally spaced apart to allow one or the other side of said blank to be folded over, respectively, while said blank, conveyed by said primary, endlessbelt, successively passes below said auxiliary belts, and means to operate said primary and auxiliary belts.

12. In an envelope machine, a moving, primary, endless belt conveying an envelope blank, auxiliary, endless belts the bottom faces of which are in moving contact with sectional areas of the top face of said primary belt, said sectional areas of contact being spaced apart in, and transversely to the direction of movement of said top face of said primary belt, and means to operate said pri-y mary and auxiliary belts at the same linear speed, said belts being laterally ixedly disposed in respect to each other.

13. In an envelope machine, a large endless belt, which is mounted substantially centrally in the machine and adapted in width fully to support the envelopes to be made byv said machine, and two endless, laterally ixedly disposed belts respectively running on the top of one and the other half of said large, endless belt, pairs of said belts alternatingly engaging the envelope blank, while the envelope is being made. v

14. In an envelope machine, a frame, a top forming part of said frame, a large endless belt movably mounted in said frame, the top of the upper extent of said belt being substantially in alignment with said top andfully supporting the front wall portion of an envelope blank fed thereonto, envelope folding means mounted on said frame and disposed on top of said beltand auxiliary endless belts mounted on said frame and engaging said envelope blanks while they are carried on said large endless belt through said folding means. n

Signed at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York. v

MATTHEW VIERENGEL. 

